Current Projects
Degrees of Excellence Initiative
In his inaugural address, Indiana University President Michael McRobbie introduced the Degrees of Excellence Initiative. This initiative calls for each IU campus to reallocate five percent of its existing non-academic budget over the next five years toward student financial aid or other programs that improve degree completion rates.
The table below provides the annual and total budgets dedicated to the initiative for each campus.
| Campus | Annual Degrees of Excellence Budget | Five-Year Total Degrees of Excellence Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | $1,052,528 | 5,262,640 |
| IUPUI | $637,524 | $3,187,620 |
| East | $41,764 | $208,820 |
| Kokomo | $49,274 | $246,370 |
| Northwest | $92,332 | $461,660 |
| South Bend | $117,462 | $587,310 |
| Southeast | $130,080 | $650,400 |
IU Bloomington and IUPUI
Under the Degrees of Excellence Initiative, IU campuses are to determine how best to use the funds to support the particular student populations that they serve. IU Bloomington and IUPUI have committed the funds toward student financial aid:
- IU Bloomington will allocate its funds toward its current 21st Century Scholars Covenant.
- IUPUI Chancellor Charles Bantz announced in his State of the Campus Address that IUPUI will allocate its funds toward the establishment of a 21st Century Scholars grant program that will address additional student costs not currently covered by the state program. IUPUI will also use its funds to form a Pell Promise grant program that provides additional financial support to Pell Grant recipients.
IU Regional Campuses
The regional campuses are currently forming plans for how to best reallocate their budgets toward improving degree completion on their campuses. These plans will be implemented beginning July 1, 2008. A seminar held on March 24, 2008 provided representatives from the regional campuses with a current review of the research on best practices in retaining students and an introduction to a set of measures that may help expand thinking about student persistence on the regional campuses.
Seminar Presentations
- Student Persistence: What do we know about what makes a difference? (PowerPoint)
- Measurement Perspectives on Student Tracking: A comparison of three approaches to tracking undergraduate students at Indiana University regional campuses (PowerPoint)
Seminar Reports
IU Regional Official Retention Rates and Grad Rates
